Yang Jia's Fear

What is the best way to preserve beautiful things?

The curious patrons at the Iceberg Bar fell silent after hearing Xiao Xiao's answer, then cheered two seconds later.

Xiao Xiao's mysterious smile at that moment was like a brand, deeply imprinted in their minds.

Outsiders could hardly understand their excitement and jubilation at this moment. Just like the strangers, there was no name yet to define them. However, those around them could feel the fervor of this legion and the terrifying power surging within them.

I just don't understand how something so terrifying could have been created.

"Detected..."

At the same time, in the Black Forest Biological Laboratory, as the black gate collapsed and disappeared, and Xiao Xiao appeared before everyone, the testing instruments also began to break free from the influence of the chaotic mental flow and resumed their operation.

The sophisticated instruments suspended high in space began scanning rapidly. On the screens in front of them, lines of data and information started to jump up again. They confirmed Xiao Xiao's current condition, recorded the data changes of the Hell Legion, and finally, the camera zoomed in from top to bottom, focusing on Xiao Xiao's side. They saw the tattered cloak lying next to him, and the strange, barely recognizable object that faintly emitted dark red radiation.

The data in the database began to be automatically compared.

They all held their breath, staring intently at the screen, until a huge exclamation mark and a danger warning suddenly popped up.

"Whoosh..."

Some staff members stood up excitedly and shouted loudly.

The Shepherds's face broke into an undisguised grin. He leaned back against the sofa and raised his wine glass high.

"Gentlemen, our plan has succeeded."

"This is the first time in our history that a project initiated by ordinary people has yielded such a tremendous result, so we..."

"... You can apply for the bonus now!"

"..."

Unlike the Shepherds, whose mouth was practically stretched to his ears with excitement, and the ordinary staff who were overjoyed, Senior Investigator Mr. Wild Dog and several other staff members transferred from the Black Forest were deeply shocked and bewildered.

"It actually succeeded?"

"So many people came up with countless ideas, and we don't know how many elites we recruited to implement them."

"But all that came out of it was failure and ever-growing fear."

"But now, they've been forced to bring this madman back to take charge, and the plan is actually progressing smoothly, even yielding great success?"

"Does this mean we'll have to work with this madman from now on?"

"..."

"..."

"That guy, he really killed that woman?"

The Hell Organization's focus was clearly not on this. Although they had witnessed Xiao Xiao shoot Yang Jia dead, White Devil still harbored a sliver of hope, wondering if there might be other developments.

Until the entire incident was over, Yang Jia's figure never appeared again. It seemed that not only was she dead, but she herself had also been torn to pieces by the huge mental turbulence, and her expression finally became a little blank.

In the past, we were all on equal footing, and we could become friends because of our shared pursuit of art.

But now, I suddenly realize that his temperament in some aspects has far surpassed mine. Can I still be friends with him?

"It's starting..."

Just as he was thinking this, while the members of the Hell Organization around him were discussing whether their image could be redeemed now that such a freak had appeared in Black Gate City.

Suddenly, a strange fluctuation of spiritual energy emanated from the surroundings, startling everyone. They hurriedly turned their heads to look and saw that, from within the perpetually pervasive mist beside the Hell Organization's ghost ship, a dark red plant had begun to grow. It was called a plant because it had a flower bud on top and resembled a root system, but in reality, it was entirely constructed of flesh and blood. This flesh and blood grew rapidly, extending all the way to the ship, and then the flower bud at the very tip gradually opened before everyone's eyes.

A man dressed in a white suit and with shiny leather shoes crawled out of the flower bud.

It even tilted its neck and made a cracking sound.

"When you asked me for this information, to be honest, I didn't really believe he could actually do this."

When the man appeared, he looked at the White Devil, sighed softly, shook his head, and seemed to feel a sense of melancholy and regret.

"President..."

When people around him saw him, their eyes lit up, and many in the crowd showed eager expressions.

The Hell Organization has always had a rule: whoever kills the chairman can replace him and become the new leader of the Hell Organization's nine fleets.

Therefore, everyone wants to see this chairman.

Of course, this chairman isn't a very good person, and if you make a move against him, you might get killed instead.

This is why, despite the Hell Organization having such explicit rules, only the captain of the First Fleet has dared to challenge him time and time again.

"Did he really kill that woman?"

The chairman, whom even members of the Hell Organization rarely saw in person, waved to the others, while a knife appeared in his hand, which he gripped tightly, ready to deal with any sudden attacks from those around him.

His expression turned somewhat serious as he looked at the White Devil.

"Yes."

White Devil nodded solemnly and said, "We saw it with our own eyes."

"His shot killed the woman and also the Mysterious Source. We all witnessed that scene and saw no other changes."

"..."

After saying that, she couldn't help but add softly, "Luckily, what I have between him and me is friendship..."

"Even friendships aren't safe..."

The leader of the Hell Organization looked at White Devil with sympathy, then shook his head and said, "However, this is for the best. If that woman had survived, there would have been a lot of trouble."

"Trouble?"

White Devil paused slightly, looking at the guild leader with some confusion.

She survived, and at most I'll just have to give her a little more money as a gift. What's the big deal?

"She became the only Branders before she died."

The president said somewhat coldly, "So you can imagine what kind of terrifying existence would appear in this world if she hadn't died here but had left."

White Devil was startled. "An outsider who has mastered complete authority over the secondary Mysterious Source?"

"Not only that."

The leader of the Hell Organization whispered, "It also represents some secrets that can no longer be hidden."

"And now..."

He slowly raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the thick fog, directly seeing Black Gate City, and also Xiao Xiao, especially the dark red severed hand beside him, and the gray cloak, and slowly said:

"The situation won't deteriorate to that extent, but it's a fact that he killed the Mysterious Source. I'm afraid the carefully maintained boundary between us and Dante Organization is about to become blurred. This dead end is showing signs of being turned around."

"..."

Even a captain-level being like White Devil couldn't quite understand what he was saying, "Why do you say that?"

The leader of the Hell Organization gave White Devil a strange look and said, "Because he's too young, I'm afraid he won't be able to learn to play dumb, which will make it impossible for us to continue pretending."

"Now that the work is done, let's head back!"

Xiao Xiao knew that many people were watching him, but the surrounding situation was too complicated, and he could only sense it slightly before withdrawing his perception.

He simply instructed silently, "Mister Ye, remember to bring our spoils."

Although their current location is theoretically within the territory of Black Gate City, it is physically quite far away. For any other matters, they can only return first.

But when it comes to leaving, things have become a bit complicated.

Previously, everyone had come through the door opened by the Branders. Now, with the death of Mister Du, that door has collapsed and disintegrated along with the black gate.

If they wanted to return to Black Gate City, theoretically, all of them would need to have traversed countless spatial scales. However, Xiao Xiao only sensed it slightly before turning around and gently waving his hand towards the location of the Hell Organization's warship.

His previous understanding of the battle situation revealed that the Hell Organization had once helped him eliminate an opponent.

Among Mister Du's Branders is a member of the Hell Organization, who is also the most intelligent one on this battlefield.

If the Hell Organization hadn't unexpectedly kept their promise and eliminated him by attacking Black Gate City, this gamble might not have succeeded.

To be honest, Xiao Xiao himself felt that in this battle against the Mysterious Source, his role was only second.

It has to be Yang Jia!

If she hadn't been so reckless, the Mysterious Source wouldn't have been solved so easily...

While sincerely expressing his gratitude to the Hell Organization, Xiao Xiao took a deep breath and lightly drew a line in the air with his finger.

Everyone present simultaneously felt a dizzying sensation. The solid ground beneath their feet suddenly began to writhe, as if the earth had come to life. Moreover, it did not only come to life, but began to writhe and contract rapidly. At the same time, the scene around them began to melt, flesh and blood rolled and recombine, and finally, tall flesh and blood tissues soared into the sky, intertwining to form towering buildings, wide roads, streetlights, and all kinds of neon lights and pedestrians.

They felt slightly dizzy and confused. After looking around carefully, they realized that they had actually returned to Black Gate City.

Or rather, it is the main city of Black Gate City.

Flesh and blood transfer.

By transforming the surrounding cities into flesh and blood and reorganizing the environment, they achieve a physical transfer in reality.

Previously, when Xiao Xiao was fighting against the invasion of the Hell Organization, Black Gate City temporarily granted him this ability, but it was taken back after the Hell Organization surrendered.

But now, he has regained this ability, and it is permanent.

Of course, this only applies to Black Gate City.

"Mr. Xiao..."

Everyone who was transferred to the Black Gate City by Xiao Xiao in this way was dizzy, surprised, and then excited. Only Mister Ye hesitated to speak, and his uninterrupted electronic voice seemed to contain a slight tension.

"Is there a problem?"

Xiao Xiao turned his head to look at the city, his gaze seemingly landing on Mister Ye.

"No, I will keep the spoils safe."

Mister Ye paused for a moment, then answered softly. The next moment, the flesh and blood around Xiao Xiao melted again, and a strangely shaped black safe appeared.

They collected the dark red severed hand and the gray cloak, then buried them in flesh and blood, and transported them to an unknown location. The ground returned to its flat state, as if nothing had ever existed.

"I know you have some questions. We can talk about them when we get to my office."

Xiao Xiao smiled and said to Mister Ye.

Now, he has achieved parasitism over 50% of Black Gate City, and thus has sensed even more mysterious power.

The reason he hasn't finished parasitizing yet is because he's curious about some things.

Once he reached 50%, he could naturally feel Mister Ye's power operation more clearly, which was actually similar to the way his own Unquenched Heart worked.

Previously, everyone assumed that each other kept secrets and naturally wouldn't ask or pry too much, but now that their powers are of the same origin, it is necessary for them to have an exchange.

Before Mister Ye left, Xiao Xiao thought for a moment and called him back, "Also, call everyone."

"Yes!"

Mister Ye simply agreed in silence and then slowly disappeared.

The others in Black Gate City — Ruan Ruan, Little Four, Red Eyes Ling Ping, the Serpent Sisters, and Old Zhou Under the Bridge —all remained silent. Since the end of the battle, not one of them had come to speak to Xiao Xiao.

But Xiao Xiao didn't seem to notice their reaction; he simply lowered his head slightly.

All the buildings and roads around him melted and reassembled, intertwining to form a bright ceiling, a heavy sofa and a wool carpet, and even to his right a wine cabinet with bottles of expensive wine, a desk with a computer on it.

He appeared in his office, and when he sat down, the office chairs were already in place.

Why are you hiding?

With a slight look of curiosity, he looked up and asked, glancing at Yang Jia beside the desk.

At first, it was his initiative to ask Yang Jia to hide behind him, but later, it was Yang Jia who asked to hide and not see anyone else.

"Because I'm scared!"

Yang Jia took a deep breath, glanced at the changes in her surroundings, and seemed somewhat surprised.

She had been right next to Xiao Xiao the whole time, but because Xiao Xiao blocked her view, she was also blocked by the entire city of Black Gate City. So, no one could see her.

Xiao Xiao paused slightly upon hearing her answer, then slowly said, "Afraid of whom?"

Yang Jia took a deep breath and said, "There are many people."

"Among them were even the people I once trusted the most."

"..."

"..."

"I can now give you a brief report."

While Xiao Xiao returned to his office and had a private conversation with Yang Jia, the Shepherds appeared extremely excited, even somewhat smug.

"This time, with the cooperation of myself and our sole Special Investigator, Mr. Xiao Xiao, our various attempts and plans have made perfect progress."

"Let's look at the first one."

"..."

He showed a scene to a mysterious figure on a large screen in the makeshift command center; it appeared to be a scene in a bar.

Business was clearly booming, with countless men and women indulging in revelry. Of course, there were also some people hiding coldly in the corners. The camera lens flickered from time to time, as if the person filming was trembling with fear and in a state of extreme panic.

Beside them, rows of rapidly changing numerical values reminded the others that these seemingly normal people possessed powerful and diverse forms of mental radiation.

"This is the farm plan I mentioned to you, the purpose of which is to create a controllable, powerful, Aberrant Creature to fight against the outsiders."

"Now, look at this, what a perfect army..."

"Each of these people already possesses the radiation capabilities of Aberrant Creature, and some of the best among them can even be said to be close to Class A."

"But they all maintain a complete and normal human form..."

"... You may think they are not so normal, but that's because they are not normal to begin with. In terms of their physical form, they are still quite reasonable."

"..."

"Such a weapon..."

One of the people on the screen raised a question, "What do you think of their security features?"

"Very good."

The Shepherds assured, "At least their radiation will only appear according to their will, and will absolutely not unconsciously and arbitrarily pollute the ordinary people around them."

"It really is a remarkable thing. I always thought this plan was suicidal..."

At this moment, a person positioned near the center of the screen spoke in a deep voice, offering confirmation, and then asked the most crucial question, "So..."

How controllable are they?

"..."

"That's a more interesting question."

The Shepherds laughed and said, "You could say we're completely out of control. We have absolutely no way to control them. In their eyes, we're probably no different from young women walking the streets at night—prey."

"..."

The surroundings suddenly fell silent: you created such a horrific thing, and they still live in this city.

They have absolutely no binding force on them, and now they're telling us the experiment was a great success?

"But our Special Investigator, Mr. Xiao, has a very strong control over them."

The Shepherds laughed and said, "So, as long as he's around, we're basically immune to being devoured by this Hell Legion."

"So..."

Someone suddenly became slightly curious. "How did he do that?"

"Does he want to replicate his methods of controlling these people in order to control this mutated legion?"

Hearing the man's question, the Shepherds's eyes narrowed into crescent moons with a smile, then he shook his head and said, "We can't replicate it."

"He can control himself because of 'worship'."

"The people in this legion were gathered together by him very early on to be raised and trained until the legion was successfully raised, and then he immediately subjected them to a mental shock."

You can think of it as a brand.

"Mr. Xiao has left his mark on every single individual in all these Aberrant Creature legions, so they worship him and obey his will, but we cannot do that."

"..."

The surroundings were quiet. The Shepherds seemed to be taking credit, but those listening to the report didn't seem to be in high spirits.

Someone coughed lightly and skipped the topic, asking the Shepherds in a low voice, "So, how's the Noah Project you mentioned before going?"

On the screen, everyone became serious.

This is the most important plan: to build a large ship and send all these lunatics to a place they can't see, and where they can be guaranteed never to return...

Let's restore peace to this world.

"This is the second point I want to report."

The Shepherds smiled and said, "The plan is progressing very smoothly. Now, the Dragonbone for building this large ship is ready."

"We will soon be able to return to that world where everything exists normally, without pain, struggle, or the presence of a mother."

"What I want to ask of you all is to give me greater authority, as I need to cooperate with them better."

"After all, according to my previous calculations with that Mr. Kuang Juemin, once this step is completed, those terrible obstacles will probably be coming soon."

"..."

These words caused a slight unease among the crowd. Someone whispered, "Are you worried about those lunatics whose codename is Hell?"

"No."

The Shepherds shook his head. "What I fear are those madmen who use Dante as their code name."

"..."

"..."

At this moment in Black Gate City, some people were happy and threw a grand party at the Iceberg Bar, while others were sullen.

Even people like Ruan Ruan from Black Gate City, the Serpent Sisters, Red Eyes Ling Ping, and Old Zhou Under the Bridge, all knew that this victory was hard-won, but it was difficult for them to feel happy.

Yang Jia is dead...

She had helped Black Gate City so much before, but now, she's been killed.

Perhaps the president did have a reason to kill her, and perhaps this was the only way to defeat that Mysterious Source. Everyone understands the logic.

But how can we ignore this cruel reality?

Those under even greater psychological pressure belong to Lin Bo's small team, who were unable to help at all during this battle against the Mysterious Source.

They should have returned to Dante Organization long ago, but they stayed to obtain further information about Xiao Xiao's Unquenched Heart. Now, they know that Black Gate City has just accomplished something major, but their mood is even more depressed.

"Mister Anti, the most ruthless of the four mentors of Dante Organization, is about to arrive..."

"He rushed here as soon as he heard about Yang Jia's accident, but before he even arrived, the matter was already over..."

How should we talk to him?

"..."

Lin Bo and his three teammates exchanged bewildered glances, their faces turning bitter. "He said that one of his most valued students got into trouble, fell in love, and was immediately killed?"

I've already written 6,000 words, and I plan to update some more tonight.